Machinery for filling containers.



B. A. SCHNEIDER III R. L. WELLS.

MACHINERY FOR FILLING CONTAINERS.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. Is. 1914.

l 2,80 1 Patented May 9, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

mA/-MI/ THB COLUMBIA PLANUGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

B. A. SCHNEIDER 6L R. L. WELLS.

MACHINERY FOR FILLING CONTAINERS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. I6, 1914.

Patented May 9, 1916.

-SHEET 2.

2 SHEETS mam ms CoLUMBlA PLANDGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON. D. C.

TEU S FIN FIQE,

BRUNO A. SCHNEIDER .AND ROBERT L. WELLS, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINERY ron FILLING CONTAINERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 19ML Application filed October 16, 1914. Serial No. 867,018.

T0 all lwhom t may concer/n,

Be it known that we, BRUNO A. SCHNEI- nim and ROBERT L. IIQLLs, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Filling Containers; and we do hereby declare the following` to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to filling machines, adapted more especially for filling bottles and jars with syrups, fruits, jams, and other viscid materials, although it is quite possible to use the machine for filling cans and other containers or receptacles.

@ne object of the invention is to provide a machine so constructed that the mouth of the receptacle is sealed during the entire time required for the filling operation.

Another obj ect of the invention is to mount the receptacle upon a resiliently sup` ported table which will serve to take up any jar which might otherwise be sufficient to damage or disgure the container.

A further object of the invention is to,

provide a filling machine having interposed between the receptacle and the means forv moving the same, a resilient member which permits the operating mechanism to continue in motion after the receptacle has been brought to a standstill, and store suflicient mechanical energy to withstand the increased weight of the container when the latter is filled.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for moving the receptacle toward the tank, and at the same time preventing the material or food from passing into the receptacle before the latter reaches a iXed position; as well as means, after the filling operation is completed, for cutting off the supply before the receptacle is moved away from the tank, thus preventing` all overflow.

Wvith these and other objects in View, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying` drawings, wherein similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts, Figure l is a side elevation of the machine, Fig. 2 is a front elevation and 5.

taken at right angles to the position of Fig. l, Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the machine with a portion only of the tank shown, Fig. 4; is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the valve mechanism and bottle carrier, Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the lower part of the carrier for the bottle or receptacle, Fig. 6 is a perspective detail of a receptacle guide such as may be employed in the invention, Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through a portion of guide, showing the means for preventing the longitudinal movement of the threaded rod, and Fig. S is a fragmentary. vertical section view through the guide.

The general aim of the present invention is to provide a supply tank beneath which is mounted a spring supported receptacle carrying table constituting part of a carrier and designed to be reciprocated by having power applied to the spring so that the table may be raised until the receptacle engages a stop and its motion is arrested, after which the power mechanism will continue to compress .the spring, while at the same time actuating a suitable lever mechanism for opening a valve controlling the flow of the tank contents into the receptacle after the latter has come to a standstill. Suitable adjustments for the various parts and shock absorbing means are provided.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Figs. l and 2, it will be seen that the machine forming the subject matter of the present invention comprises a frame designated `generally at l, upon which is mounted in any suitable manner a tank 2, for holding syrup, jams, fruits, or any other semi-solid material with which it is desired to fill the receptacle. The latter is herein frequently called a bcttle, but we do not wish to be limited in this respect. Referring to Fig. el, it will be seen that the lower end of the tank, 2, is provided with a plate, 3, secured to the fianges 4 and respectively, of the tank in any suitable manner, as by rivets, et

threaded( outlet nipple and valve seat 7 which is provided with a flange S to bind.

a suitable washer 9 against the plate 3. This washer, though shown, is not necessary, but

the .flange servesas a stop as described be-v y The plate 3 has a hole internally threaded as at 6 to receive the externally ner. Secured to the bottom of the nipple 7 is a spout 11, which is removable and made in any size to suit the character of the receptacle to be lled.

The parts just described may be made of any Suitable material and of appropriate proportions, and although only one outlet has been shown as connected with the tank, yet obviously the invention is not limited to one such outlet for the tank.

The valve seat at the upper end of the nipple 7 receives the conical valve 12 having an internally threaded shank 13 which engages the lower threaded end of the hollow rod 14, guided by bracket 15 secured in any manner, as by rivets 16, to the tank 2. The bore 17 of the hollow rod 14 is in communication with the outside air.

Referring to Fig. 1, there will be seen collars 1S and 19 on the rod 1,4, between which is located the forked end 2O of the arm 21 which is made rigid with the shaft 22 mounted in any suitable bearing 23 secured to the frame. By means o-f set screws 24 the position of the stops or collars 1S and 19, respectively, may be varied along the rod 14. A sleeve 25 pivotally connected to arm 2G, which is rigid with shaft 22 and therefore moves with arm 21, receives the upper end of the thrust rod 27 provided with a number of adjusting openings 23 for the reception of the pin or other adjustable stop 29. rlhe upper end of the thrust rod 27 slides freely within the sleeve 25 with as much lost motion as is permitted by the setting of the stop.

In order that the thrust rod 27 may be given a reciprocating motion, there is provided a treadle adjustably mounted as by means of a set screw 29 on a rock shaft 33 which is journaled in the frame of the machine, and said shaft also carries a rearwardly extending perforated arm 30 pivotally connected as at 31 to the lower end of the thrust rod 27. By means of the perforations in the arm 30 the extent of the movement of the thrust rod 27 may be adjusted. By depressing pedal 32 the arm 30 may be raised to give the necessary movement to thrust rod 27. The matter thus far described relates to the valve mechanism for controlling the out-flow of the contentsy of the tank.

To understand the construction of the carrier for controlling the movement of the receptacles which are to be filled, reference is to be had to Figs. 1, 2 and 4. To the power shaft 33 is fixed in any approved manner the segmental gear 34 meshing with the segmental gear 35 fixed to a countershaft 36. which is journaled in a bearing 37 suitably mounted upon any part of the frame 1, such as the vertical support 38. There is Xed to this shaft 36 a lever on whose rear arm 3,9 is mounted weight 40 which serves to partly counterbalance the mechanism supported by the other arm 41. The latter` is forked, and the fork arms have pins 42 engaging a groove 44 around a nut 43 which is screwed upon a threaded sleeve 45;. and when these elements are at rest and the bottle carrier lowered, they and the parts carried by them are supported by a stop 4G fixedly mounted in the frame 1. To cushion the impact of the descending carrier when it strikes the stop, the upper face of the latter is provided with any suitable shock-absorber 47, seen more clearly in Fig. 5. The stop 4G is provided with a bore 43 for a purpose to 'be described presently. The upper end of the sleeve is not provided with threads but is left cylindrical as shown at 49, which cylindrical portion has a slot 50 seen in the lower part of Fig. 4. EX- tending through the bore 43 is a rod 51 upon which is iXedly mounted table 52 and around which is coiled an expansive spring 60 one end of which engages the table 52 while the other end rests on the top of sleeve 45. A pin 51 passes through slot 50 transversely of sleeve 45 and is normally held against the topof slot 50, the spring 60 being always under compression.l

With the carrier in its loweredy position, the receptacle indicated generally at 62,A will be placed upon the table 52, resting upon the pad 53 and held in the proper position by means of guide 56, to be described hereinafter. The bottom of the tank is normally closed by the valve 12 and the pin 29 is spaced from the adjacent end of sleeve` 25. The operator now depresses the pedal 32 which, having reference to Fig. 1 will give a counter-clockwise rotation to segmental gear 34, which, as will be understood, will cause the arms 30 and 41 to rise simultaneously. As the arm 30 rises, the pin 29. will approach the end of the sleeve 25 but, by the lost motion referred to, the thrust rod 27 will be able to move through a predetermined distance before engagement between the pin and sleeve occurs. Meanwhile, the arm 41, through the intermediary of the nut 43,v will raise the threaded sleeve 45, spring 60, table 52 and receptacle 62 until the receptacle engages the stop provided therefor and the mouth thereof is sealed by the rubber gasket 10. Immediately thereafter, pin 29 will engage the sleeve 25 and the arms 26 and 21 will be raised, the oper.- ator, of course, continuing the downward movement of pedal 32. This raising of arm 21 will be accompanied by a corresponding rise of the hollow valve rod 14 which will unseat valve 12 and allow the passage of the contents of the tank into the receptacle 62. As the mouth of the receptacle has previously been closed against gasket 10, none of the contents of the tank can overflow. The threaded sleeve 45 continues to riser but as this sleeve has no connection with the table 52 except by means of spring 60, the table will not be raised farther and the rise of the sleeve 45 after the mouth of the receptacle strikes the stop will be taken up by the spring 60. When the receptacle has been filled, the pedal 32 is released, permitting the valve 12 to seat to prevent escape of the tank contents, this operation occurring before the carrier starts to descend. The energy which was previously stored in spring 60 will be suflicient to hold the receptacle 62 against gasket 10 until valve 12 is seated. Sleeve 45 will then descend until the pin 5l engages the top of slot 50, after which the sleeve will continue, and the table and receptacle start, to descend, and the carrier reaches its original position when the nut strikes the stop 46. The presence of the shock absorber 47 at this point and the interposition of the spring 60 between the table 52 and sleeve 45 serve to cushion the jar so that no injury is done a frangible receptacle 62 such as a bottle, and the contents of the same will not be spilled. The iilled bottle is then removed and replaced by an empty one, and the operation repeated.

The several adjustments are for various purposes. The pin 29 may be moved to another opening 2S to reduce or increase the lost mo-tion between the thrust rod 27 and sleeve 25, and therefore causes the valve 12 to open earlier or later. rI`he pivot 31 may be engaged with one of the other perforations in the arm 30 to give the rod 27 less thrust than when set as seen in Fig. l. By means of the set screw 29 the treadle 28 may be adjusted higher than as shown in this view, so that depression of the pedal 32 to its fullest extent will give a longer movement to both the bottle carrier and the valve mechanism. The drawings show the carrier set for the reception of the tallest bottle which may be used in this machine. If a shorter bottle or receptacle were to be filled, the nut 43 would be turned down the threads of the sleeve 45 so that in effect, when the nut rested on the stop as seen in Fig. 5, the sleeve would stand higher than there illustrated. The result would be that all parts of the carrier (except the nut) would stand relatively higher when at rest as seen in Fig. l, or in other words the upward movement of the receptacle 62 would commence at a higher point. This is on the assumption that the operator is to lill a number of bottles of one size, and then a number of jars which are all of the same sise as each other but of less height than said bottles. It is even possible for the operator to use this machine in filling receptacles of various sizes which are supplied to him indiscriminately, and at that time he would probably change the position of the treadle 28 so as to increase its stroke. Fig.

l shows how the tallest bottle could be interposed between the table 52 and the stop 8 above it. Let us assume that the next receptacle picked up by the operator was a jar one half the height of the bottle there shown. He could just as well place it on the table and depress the pedal 32 sufliciently to cause the rise of the carrier until the mo-uth of the jar contacted with the stopthe only difference being the degree of movement of parts.

An important feature of our invention resides in the means provided for completely filling the bottle, jar, or other receptacle, and yet avoiding the possibility that the liquid within the nipple 7 will either overflow the receptacle or become wasted when the carrier descends. In order to carry out this feature, the spout 1l is purposely made of such proportions that after the valve l2 has Abeen seated the contents of the nipple 7 will be just enough to fill the space left by the said spout l1 as the receptacle 'moves away from the same; therefore, no overflow will occur. The receptacle can be moved in any manner and may be handled by means of any of the approved mechanisms which are employed at present for handling filled receptacles or containers, but these machines form no part of the present invention.

In order to limit the downward movement of the pedal 32, there is provided a 'stop 70, rigid with the frame and made adjustableto allow for the different sizes of cans and such other conditions as may arise. In order to prevent rotary movement of the table there may be provided one or more bars, 100, sliding through eyes in the frame of the machine and depending from the table.

Some adequate device for guiding and holding the cans or bottles always in substantially the same position on the table of thev machine is necessary, and the form of guide 5G shown in Fig. 6 may be used for this purpose. The base 7l of the guide is secured to the table, 52, shown in Fig. 4, by means of wings 72, which are integral with said base and perforated as at 73 for the purpose of securing the same to the table. The base has upstanding therefrom and extending along it a track 7 4 interrupted in the center thereof by means of an upright 75 through which passes a threaded rod 76, one end of which is right, and the other left hand threaded. A set screw 77 threaded into upright 75, projects into a groove 7 8 and fixes the longitudinal position of the threaded rod, but at the same time permits rotation thereof.

Complementary guides 79 are provided, formed with lugs 80 having projections 8l which engage over the track. The lugs reH ceive the ends of the rod 76 and have internally threaded bores to agree with the respective threads thereon. By referring to lfig. S it will be seen that each projection Sl deines with the corresponding body portion of the guide, a notch 82 into which extends the track 74. rEhe front ends of the slides have divergent arms 83 which extend at an angle from them as shown.

rhe weight oi' the guide forces the corner S4: ol" the notch under the lug against the adjacent portion of the upstanding track 74: to prevent any accidental movement of the guide along the same, the threaded rod 7G serving as a iulcrum in this connection. The projection 8l prevents the rising of the 'liront end of the guide although there is sutlicient play to allow it to move through a slight angle to prevent the device from being too rigid,

F ig. 6 shows that the upright 75 projects forward 'from the inner face of the track Til and also shows that the lugs are of less width than the main portion of the guides. By this construction when the guides .are in their innermost position the lugs are held tightly against the upright.

The guide 56 may be made of any material, may be secured to the receptacle supporting table in any manner, and may have the guide members 79 moved toward and away from each other by any suitable means, although the milled nut 85 is employed, said nut being rigid with the threaded rod.

`What is claimed is:

l. In a machine for filling bottles, jars, and the like, the combination with the lilling mechanism proper; of a frame, a stopv therein, a shock absorber on the stop, an upright rod sliding` through the stop and absorber and carrying .a table at its upper end beneath said mechanism, a threaded sleeve inclosing the lower portion of said rod and having a longitudinal slot, a pin in the rod within said slot, an expansive spring on the rod between the upper end of the sleeve and the table, a nut threaded on the sleeve and adapted to rest upon Asaid absorber, and means for raising and lowering the nut.

2. In a machine for [illing bottles, jars, and the like, the combination with the filling mechanism proper; of a frame, a stop therein, an upright rod sliding through the stop and carrying a table at its upper end beneath said mechanism, a threaded sleeve inclosing the lower portion of said rod, an expansive spring on the rod between thc upper end of the sleeve and the table, a nut threaded on the sleeve and having a groove, a fork whose arms have pins engaging said groove, and treadle mechanism for moving said fork.

3. lfn a machine for illing bottles, jars, and the like, the combination with the iilling mechanism proper; of a stop, a nut resting normally thereon, a sleeve adjustable in the nut, a table below said filling mechanism, a guide depending from the table into the sleeve, yielding means for supporting the table from the sleeve, a treadle for raising the nut yat will, and connections between the treadle and filling mechanism for actuating the latter after the table has been raised.

Alg.' In a machine for filling bottles, jars, and the like, the combination with the tilling mechanism proper, and a carrier comprising a grooved member, a sleeve adjustable therein, a table below the filling mechanism and yieldingly supported by the sleeve, and a guide depending from the table into the sleeve; of a treadle, connections between it and said iilling mechanism, a lever having a fork whose arms engage said groove, and means for rocking the lever by the depression of said treadle.

ln a machine for filling bottles, jars, and the like, the combination with the lilling mechanism proper, and a bottle carrier including' a grooved nut, an element threaded therein, and a table yieldingly supported by such element; of a manually operable main shaft, an arm projecting therefrom, connections between it and said iilling mechanism, means for adjusting said connections to time the action of such mechanism, a counter-shaft actuated by thefoscillation of Athe main shaft, and a leverv arm fast on the counter-shaft and having a fork engaging the groove in said nut. 4

6. A device forraising areceptacle against a stop comprising a vertically mounted sleeve, means to move the sleeve, a rod slidably mounted in the sleeve, a pin carried by the rod and slidable within a slot formed in the sleeve, receptacle carrying means provided on the rod, and a resilient member interposed between the sleeve and receptacle carrying means, the resilient member being normally under strain'.

7. A receptacle filling machine having a tank provided in the bottom thereof with an outlet, comprising a sleeve, a receptacle carrying table, a. rod depending from the table and extending into the sleeve, a pin carried bythe rod and extending through a slot in said sleeve, a resilient member normally under strain and interposed between the table and the sleeve and limited in its expansion by the pin in the slot, means to reciprocate the sleeve, a thrust rod adapted to be reciprocated by said last named means, and a valve for controlling the outlet in the tank, the rod serving` to open the valveafter the table or receptacle has engaged the tank.

8. A valve opening mechanism for can filling machines comprising a tank, a valve to control an outlet in the tank, a rod extending from the valve, a pivotally mounted sleeve operatively connected to the rod, a thrust rod having one end extending into the sleeve, an adjustable stop carried by the rod and adapted to engage one end of the sleeve, and means to reciprocate the thrust rod.

9. A can guide for can iilling machine tables, comprising a base, a track rigid therewith, a threaded rod rotatably mounted upon the base, one end of said rod having right-hand-threads, and the other end having left-hand-threads, a guide mounted on each end of the rod and sliding on said track, oppositely extending can engaging means formed on the guides and means to rotate the threaded rod.

l0, A can guide for can lling machine tables, comprising a base secured to the table, a rod mounted upon the base, a guide mounted upon each end of the rod, said rod being rotatably mounted, means to cause the guides to move in opposite directions when the rod is rotated and oppositely extending can engaging members rigid with the guides.

l1. A can guide for can filling machine tables, comprising a base, a track rigid with the base, said base being secured to the table, a pair of guides mounted upon the base, means to move the guides in opposite directions at the same time, each guide being provided with a slot greater in cross section than the track, and can engaging means rigid with each guide and extending upon one side of the track.

12. A can guide for can filling machine tables comprising a base, a track upstanding from said base, an upright rigid with the base, a rod rotatably mounted with respect to said base, the axis of the rod being parallel with said track, can guides mounted upon the rod, means to cause them to move simultaneously in opposite directions as the rod is rotated, and can engaging means extending from the guides laterally on one side of the track, the weight thereof forcing the lower end of the guides against the track.

13. A can guide for can iilling machine tables comprising` a base, a track upstanding from one edge of said base, a rod rotatably mounted with respect to the track, the axis of the rod being parellel to said track, can engaging guides mounted upon each end of the rod and provided with slots greater in cross section than the track, means to move the guides in opposite directions simultaneously when the rod is rotated, said guides extending laterally on one side of the track to engage the can, the weight of said guides forcing one side of the 'slot in each guide against the track.

In testimony whereof we ailix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

BRUNO A. SCHNEIDER. RGBERT L. WELLS. Witnesses:

HERMAN SOHWEITZER, JAY D. MILLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID. C. 

